I am not an expert in the Bible by any stretch of the imagination. I’ve been on my Kingdom walks since I accepted Christ in October of 2014, and I do spend every day in the bible. But one of the things that I love is when I come across a passage that I have not seen before. And certainly, there’s plenty to come across in this ultimate life manual! I sometimes call it the Great Big Book of Everything! Often I am listening to the Encountering Peace meditation app, or a sermon from Dr. Charles Stanley, Elevation Church, or my home church podcast and I’ll come across a passage that I haven’t seen. This was the case with Isaiah 26 on this topic of peace.
Peace is a funny topic because it has so many definitions, so I don’t pretend to define what it means for you. For me it’s a calm knowing that I’m God’s possession, and it feels exactly right to walk in His will (not that my own human anxiety or overthinking doesn’t get me off track). Throughout scripture we’re instructed about how to get peace, how to live in it and walk in it, and share it with others. So like the famous milk commercial, where if you want milk you just go buy it at the store, I want to unpack the connection of peace and trust, and where you can find this peace for your business. It can’t be bought, because it’s already been purchased for us through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. But how to do we get it and keep it? Read on my friend.
In Isaiah 26:3 the Word says “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts You.” That “mind stayed on You” means the person fully committed to the Lord, or he who walks faithfully with the Lord. It goes on in verse 4 with our instruction: “Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord is the rock and He will keep us safe.” In my Charles Stanley Life Principles Bible there are sections called Answers to Life’s questions, which I love because it helps me unpack what the Word really means. Here’s what Dr. Stanley says about this passage:
“The key element in true lasting peace is the presence of peace. Isaiah says to God, “you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts you.” Christ is our peace, as God-centered entrepreneurs, His presence is the peace within us. Walking in that peace, allowing Him to live in and through us, and reflecting His light in all that we’re doing as God-centered entrepreneurs is how we remain in His peace. Yes, we will have trouble. Yes, we will have trials and tribulations Yes, we will have relationships that go bad, clients that aren’t happy, business partners that aren’t happy. We will lose loved ones, and we will have financial challenges. All of that is true. However, because we have Christ in the center of our business as entrepreneurs who are building businesses that honor God and serving people, we have peace.
Dr. Stanley goes on: “What is this peace? It is an inner sense of contentment and quietness regardless of life’s circumstances. It is steadfast confidence in our ever faithful, immutable heavenly father. It is the presence of joy in the midst of unhappiness. True peace does not merely dull our pain, Godly peace can endure an avalanche of hardship and difficulty and still enjoy an inner peace that surpasses all human understanding. Why? Because it does not come from pleasant circumstances, nice events, good things that others do for us, or the world’s definition of peace. Instead, it is based on the fact that the spirit of our holy omnipotent and never-changing God lives within us.” Wow, right?
As I read this I thought it is so perfect for us as God-centered entrepreneurs because we are all working towards goals…but it feels different doing it from a place of peace. My friend Linda recently said, “We hold our goals lightly because we’re surrendered to the Lord so our goals are important and we’re pursuing them, but we surrender them to Him so therefore we say ‘Lord this is my desire which you put in my heart and I’m working toward this goal, but this or something better that you have in store for me, I’m perfectly okay with, thy will be done.’ This is the peace we can have in our businesses. The peace that comes from knowing the Lord. From committing our ways to Him. From having our minds stayed on Him, and trusting in Him. So I’m wondering this about you…got peace?
